My Way of Telling It
by Slytherin-Sass
Summary: Liz Morris. Yep, that's my name. Sit down and get ready to laugh and cry as I tell you about the four years I spent with the greatest girl I ever knew.
1. Prolouge

A/N: Hi, I'm kelsbugs68 and thanks for reading my first fanfic story about Veronica Mars. I've included a new character into the steamy plot of Neptune. Liz will guide you through the four years she spent with Veronica and the gang and you'll find out alot about her troubled past, as well. The main pairings will include LoVe and Duncan/Liz. I'll follow the first, second, and third seasons, entering Liz into them. So know I guess I'll let you read the story. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Veronica Mars, alas I wish I did.

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Prolouge:

"Goodbye, Liz."

That was the last thing she said to me before the heart monitor started beeping rapidly and the doctors and nurses started piling into the room, pushing me aside as if I were some kind of rag doll. Tears rolled down my eyes as the heart monitor showed that her heart had given out on her. One of the doctors turned the machine off, shaking her head sadly.

"Time of death, 6:39 p.m. September 19, 2008."

The tears rolled freely down my face now as realization hit me. My best friend was dead. She was never coming back. I jumped out of my sorrow when the door was forcefully pushed open and I met the eyes of my half-brother and my boyfriend of two years.

"Veronica, NO!" my half-brother cried, rushing towards her dead body. This caused me to cry harder and I tried to get out of the room. I couldn't stand to be in there for another minute. I didn't want to see my brother crying over his dead girlfriend's corpse. I was just an inch away from freedom when somebody pulled me back into the room.

"NO, let me go!" I cried, struggling to get out of his grip. He just tightened his grip and pulled me into his chest. I, defeated, let myself melt against him and start crying my eyes out.

"It's okay," he said, soothingly rubbing back to stop my crying. It worked and I quieted down, just giving little hiccupping sobs now. I pulled out of his hug and stared into his concerned blue eyes. God, how I could just get lost in those blue eyes.

"Are you okay, now?" he asked, searching my eyes for an answer.

"Yeah," I replied quietly. He nodded but I could tell he didn't believe me.

"Come on, let's get you home." I glanced at my brother, who was grasping the hand of his dead girlfriend and mumbling some nonsense that I couldn't understand, and shook my head no.

"I can't leave Logan all alone."

"Okay, I'm going to go grab a cappuccino. Do you want anything, Liz?"

"No, I'm alright," I said, smiling weakly.

"I'll be back in a couple of minutes, k?" he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"K, Duncan." His lips met mine in a quick peck and he retreated silently out of the room, smiling at me as he left the room. I stood staring at him like some mindless zombie as he left the room. Even the simplest of his kisses seemed to leave me breathless. Damn, him. I quickly realized I had forgotten about my brother and rushed over to him.

He started sobbing almost as soon as I pulled him into my arms. I spoke soothingly to him and cried silently along with him. Soon he was asleep in my arms and I, too, was almost asleep.

My cell phone started ringing, all of sudden, and I gently put Logan's head down on the bed and grabbed into my purse for my cell phone. I saw the number and my breath caught in my throat. Oh, great how was I going to break this to everybody, unless Duncan already had. Why, then, would Keith be calling me? I silently cursed under my breath and flipped my phone open.

"Hello?" I asked, making the sorrow in my voice evident.

"Gees, girl, you sound like hell. I was just checking up on V. How's she doing?" a familiar voice asked from the other line. I felt like laughing, knowing how my best friend was going to react to the news.

"Wallace, sh-she's dead."

"She's what?" he asked, disbelief showing in his voice.

"Wallace, she's dead," I sobbed out, hating myself for doing this to him.

"Hang on, Liz, we're coming down." I could hear people banging in the background and car doors opening and closing. He hung up quickly and I was left there to burst into tears again. Keith, Wallace, and Mac had just left for a cup of coffee and now, here they were hurrying back because Veronica had died.

I threw the cell phone on the ground and started to cry tears of frustration. If only I hadn't let Veronica leave by herself that night, she would still be here with us. I remembered the first time I met her. She was the only real friend I ever really had. Her sassiness and spunkiness were the two things I loved about her. Now she was gone. I couldn't believe I had let her die!

My life had really changed in the past four years. Moving to Neptune and meeting the "wonderful" people here had made a huge impact upon it. It seems like it was only yesterday I had left Chicago and moved here to find out the facts of my childhood. In memory of Veronica, let me tell you of the four years of my life I spent with the greatest person I ever met, my way of telling it.

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A/N: Well, there's the preview of the story is going to be like. The first chapter will be out in a couple of days, but remember it's the holidays, so it might be out or it might not. Please review! 


	2. Ch 1 My First Day at Neptune High

A/N: Well, here's the first official chapter. Thanks to luvablemilo for reviewing! Enjoy!

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Ch. 1 My First Day at Neptune High

I groaned inwardly as I pulled my red Chrysler Crossfire into the parking lot of my new high school. The school where I will spend the next two years of my life, oh joy! Already the first day and I was lost. Where was I supposed to park? Which lots were for teachers and which were for students? These thoughts swirled through my mind as I maneuvered my way from row to row.

"Hey, do you mind moving it?" a voice called impatiently from behind me. I rolled my eyes and just decided to park somewhere, whether it was for the teachers or not. I turned the engine off and climbed out of the car, twirling the keys around my finger. I grabbed my shoulder bag out of the trunk and walked slowly towards the school.

As soon as I got close to the school, people were eyeing me like I was some alien and whispering into their friends' ear, "Who's the new girl?" I rolled my eyes as everybody checked me out, especially the boys. I don't know what was so special about me, the boys at home didn't check me out like that. I had decided to wear a pair of jeans, I had gotten at AE, and a long-sleeved, navy blue shirt under a bleached jean jacket. My cropped-cut, medium length golden brown hair was pulled back into a messy bun with a few strands framing my face.

I was just a few feet away from the front doors when I noticed a small crowd had formed around a flag pole. I walked towards the crowd and maneuvered my way through the students, trying to figure out what was going on. My chocolate brown eyes widened when I saw what the crowd had formed for. A black guy was duct-taped to the flagpole, naked.

"Move, Move!" a petite blonde instructed sternly, pushing people out of the way.

"Watch where you're going!" I exclaimed as she pushed me forcefully into another person. She turned and glared at me but continued up to the flagpole, getting even more insults as she made her way up to the front. Everybody started to leave when the blonde started cutting the naked black guy off the pole. I watched her curiously but then decided I better go get enrolled.

I walked into the school, glancing around at all the doors, wondering which one was the main office. I ignored the catcalls that were whistled at me as I walked past them. I stopped in front of a door which looked like the main office and mustered up enough courage to enter the room.

My instincts must have been right because when I entered the room it looked like what a normal, big high school's office would look like. I walked up to the secretary and waited for her to get off the phone.

"Can I help you?" the secretary asked me impatiently, writing something down on the pad in front of her.

"Uh, yeah, I'm new here and need to get enrolled," I replied in a similar tone. Her face changed dramatically and a cheerful smile suddenly appeared on her face.

"Welcome to Neptune High! To get started here, you need to fill out these forms," she said in an overly peppy voice, handing a couple of forms to me. I took the papers and sat down on a plastic chair to the side of the room.

As I was filling out the papers, the same guy that had been taped to the flag pole came into the office, fully clothed, and walked up to the secretary. I snickered when she greeted him the same way she had greeted me. He hurriedly took the forms and sat next to me, glancing at me as he sat down.

"Certainly peppy isn't she?" I asked him quietly so that the secretary wouldn't hear.

"Nah, I'm used to it. I always get greeted like this on a first day at a new school," he said sarcastically. We both erupted in laughter but quickly stopped when the secretary gave us a reprimanding look. We both glanced at each other as we snickered again.

"I'm Elizabeth Morris, by the way," I said, holding my hand out.

"Wallace Fennel." He shook my hand, flashing me a smile. I smiled back but went back to my forms so I wouldn't be late anymore than I already was.

I finished before Wallace and walked back up to the secretary, handing her my forms. She took them and handed me a schedule. Great! Journalism first hour. Sure I was a great writer; I just hated writing about school events and etc.

I said bye to Wallace and headed to the journalism classroom. I just hoped the class wasn't like last year. I stopped by my locker first and dropped off my shoulder bag, and then I tried to find the classroom. I stopped in front of the door and breathed deeply before knocking and entering the room.

The whole classroom stopped what they were doing to stare at the "new girl". I ignored the whisperings and glances and walked up to who I supposed was Ms. Dent. I handed her the note the secretary had told me to show the teachers, for them to know I was a new student.

"Class, it looks like we have a new student," Ms. Dent said, introducing me to the class. I, for the first time that day, looked the class in the eye. My eyes swept the room and rested on a guy that looked like the male version of me. Our eyes met before I quickly broke the eye contact and focused my attention back on Ms. Dent. "Would like to tell us your name and where you're from?"

"Well, my name's Elizabeth Morris, I like to be called Liz, though, and I'm from Chicago, IL," I said in my formal tone. Most of the time, I had a sarcastic tone when I talked to people, but I thought I should act civil at least my first day, I would be in the principal's office by the next day.

"Ah, a big city girl, must be hard switching to the lifestyle of us simple commoners," the boy I had locked eyes with earlier said sarcastically, earning a couple of laughs from the class. I fought the urge to say a rude comment back and shot him a fake sweet smile.

"Logan! Be nice!" Ms. Dent said, shooting him a disappointed look. The class took this as a signal to be quiet and quickly went back to what they were doing before. "So, Liz, we're you in a journalism class in Chicago?"

"Yeah, I was a photojournalist." Her eyes brightened when I said this. Photography was one of my hobbies.

"Great! We've been in need of some photographers. Do you know how to use one?"

"Yep. How else could I have been a photojournalist?" I asked sarcastically.

"You've got a point there. Now, if only there was someone else who could be a photographer…?"

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By the time lunch rolled around, everyone in school was calling me "Big City Girl". Damn that Logan and his sadistic nicknames.

After I ordered my lunch, I looked around for an empty table. I quickly found one and sat down, ignoring the stares that followed me as I sat down. I pulled "Emma" by Jane Austen and started to read it, completely oblivious to the chilling glare I was receiving at the moment.

"Excuse me, but you're sitting in my spot," a voice said harshly, giving me the feeling I wasn't wanted. I quickly looked up and found the petite blonde, from earlier, glaring at me.

"I don't see your name on it," I smartly said back, stubbornly refusing to give the table up.

"Obviously you're new or you would know not to mess with me," she said threateningly.

"Oh, I'm so scared!" I sarcastically replied, pretending to shake. Her face continued to glare at me, but after a few moments broke into a smile. I stared back at her confused.

"First new student to talk back to me like that, I like that in a person. I'm Veronica Mars, by the way," she said, plopping down next to me and holding a hand out to me.

"I'm Elizabeth Morris, but I like to be called Liz," I told her, shaking her hand hesitantly. How could she be rude one minute and nice the next?

"So how do you like Neptune so far?" she asked, playing with her food.

"Uh, it's okay, I guess, unless you count the fact that everybody's calling me 'Big City Girl'." I shot a glance towards where that Logan guy was sitting, with who I suspected were the popular people of Neptune High.

"'Big City Girl'? Who gave you that nickname?"

"That guy." I pointed towards Logan and saw her roll her eyes.

"Typical," she muttered. "Don't worry about him. He's the school's psychotic jackass, and all the other 09ers sitting over there are his followers."

"O9ers?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"That's what the rich people here in Neptune are called, I should know I used to be one of them," she answered, trailing off into her own thoughts.

"You used to be one of them? Veronica? You, who!" I waved my hand in front of her eyes, but got no reaction whatsoever. I turned around to see what could be disturbing her and saw the extremely cute boy she was staring at. When that Logan guy noticed that Veronica was staring at the cute boy, he got in his lap and pretended to be turned on by it. This didn't seem to faze Veronica at all.

"You guys okay?" I turned around and Wallace was sitting with us at the table. I smiled at him and he smiled back, only Veronica seemed to think he was unwelcome.

"What?" Veronica asked stupidly, still kind of out of it.

"You guys looked, I don't know, hypnotized," he replied, trying to find the right words.

"Did we say you could sit here?" she demanded harshly. I threw her a reprimanding glare and she sighed, stopping him as he got all of his lunch back together again. "Wait a minute. Of course you can sit here. Sit wherever you want." He plopped back down and smiled weakly at her.

"That was cool, what you did. Cutting me off that pole," he said, thanking her for earlier. I looked guiltily down at the ground, knowing I should have helped her cut him down instead of just standing there like I had.

"Well--," she started to say but was cut off by a harsh voice.

"My bitch." I watched as a couple of Mexican guys came around by Veronica, glaring at Wallace. "Weren't you supposed to wait for me at the flagpole? Not sure I could have made that any clearer," I guessed who their leader was asked Wallace, plopping down next to him and staring at him intimidating. Veronica and I watched as Wallace struggled to find something to say. I was getting really mad at this biker-looking guy and by the looks of it, so was Veronica. Who did he think he was?

"Okay, I get it. Very funny. I guess we're even now, right?" Wallace asked, glancing at the Mexicans fearfully.

"You get what? You get that you're a dead man walking? Is that what you get?" the leader asked, continuing to stare at Wallace chillingly. That was all that I could take before I spoke up.

"Leave him alone," Veronica and I ordered at the same time, I more like growled at him. He glanced at me and Veronica and then glanced back at his gang.

"Let me take care of this, Liz," Veronica whispered to me. I started to protest but was silenced by her warning glare.

"Sisters. The only time I care what a woman has to say is when she's riding my big old hog. Even then, it's not so much words just "oohs" and "ahs," you know?"

"So it's big, huh?" Veronica asked with sarcastic interest.

"Legendary."

"Well, let's see it. I mean, if it's as big as you say, I'll be your girlfriend. We could go to prom together!" The leader started chuckle nervously. "What seems to be the problem? I'm on a schedule here, vato." By now, Wallace and I were trying not to burst into laughter.

"Hey, Weevil, don't let Blondie talk to you like that!" one of his followers exclaimed, outraged.

"Sounds like your buddy here wants to see it too," Veronica said, acknowledging the leader's friend.

"Oh, hell, I'll show you mine!" the follower cried, about ready to unzip his jeans.

"Felix Toombs," a voice with authority rang out, approaching our table. "What on God's green earth is going on here?" a man asked, who I assumed was either the vice principal or the principal. When nobody answered, he started to usher them away. "Okay, gentleman, move along. Veronica, why does trouble follow you around?" Veronica gave him an innocent smile and shrugged her shoulders. Veronica turned her gaze to Wallace and stared at him questioningly.

"So, what did you do?"

"What?" Wallace asked.

"Why are you a dead man walking?" Veronica repeated, still giving him her questioning stare.

"Oh, yeah. I work at Sac-n-Pac. Last night I was working by myself. Couple of those guys came in. They walked right to the back, and started stuffing all these 40s into their pockets. So I hit the silent alarm. I guess he thought a one-dollar bill would cover it. That's when the police came," Wallace explained.

"We don't have the police here. We have a sheriff's department," Veronica corrected.

"Fine, the sheriff's department arrived. After they questioned the guys, they made me go outside. Once outside, the sheriff told me they had told him that they had paid, he asked me if it was true. I lied and told him they had. He asked me why I had pulled the silent alarm and I said it had been an accident. He didn't believe me so he went inside the store and watched the surveillance tape. He came back outside and told his deputy to get them out of there. He came up to me and told me I needed to go see the wizard and ask him for some guts."

"'Go see the wizard'? He said that?" Veronica asked with a disgusted and knowing look on her face. I, too, had a disgusted look on my face.

"Yeah."

"Congratulations, sport. In your short time here you've managed to piss off a motorcycle gang and the local sheriff," Veronica said, patting him on the back. We continued to eat in silence for awhile, just glancing at each other once in awhile. Then out of nowhere someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and I was staring at a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy.

"Hey, Big City Girl, my friends and I were wondering if you wanted to come and sit with us so that you don't have to torture yourself by sitting with these freaks." He pointed toward the 09er table where everyone one was staring at me intensely, waiting for my answer, especially that Logan guy was eyeing me. My eyes darkened fiercely when he called Veronica and Wallace freaks. I stood up defiantly, using my height to my advantage, and slapped the guy right across the face.

"Sitting with a dick like you would be torture enough," I growled, glaring fiercely at him. He just stood there looking at me frightened and embarrassed.

"I think, Dick, she just told you to get lost," Veronica said, with an amused look on her face. Dick scampered back to the 09er table as I had a triumphant smile on my face.

"Is his name really Dick?" She nodded her head and I giggled at the irony. I turned back to the 09er table and gave them the finger, receiving a bunch of glares.

"Gee, girl! Remind me not to go around making you mad," Wallace exclaimed, patting me on the back.

"You're seriously screwed, do you know that? The 09ers are going to give you hell now," Veronica warned me.

"Bring it on," I said, smiling mischievously. Veronica returned the smile.

Veronica and Wallace were my first friends at Neptune High, and for the years to come we would remain the greatest of friends.

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A/N: Hope you liked it! Next chapter we'll find out more about Liz's past and Liz helps Veronica get Wallace's tape. So review and stay tuned! 


	3. Ch 2 Secrets I Have to Keep

**A/N: Here's the 2nd chapter. Took me along time to write, 5824 words or something. So you better like it. Review and tell me what you think.**

Disclaimer: The Almighty Rob Thomas created Veronica Mars and I did not (wish I had).

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Ch. 2 Secrets I Have to Keep

_There are no secrets better kept than the secrets that everybody guesses.-George Bernard Shaw_

Before I knew it, school was over and I was pulling my Crossfire into my apartment complex. It was smaller than the apartment Dad and I had had in Chicago, but it was the only thing I could afford. I grabbed my shoulder bag out of the trunk and headed up to room 108. My German Shepard, Opal, bounded up to me as soon as I entered the apartment.

"Hey, girl. Did you miss me?" I asked her, bending down and scratching behind her ears. She barked in response and got a smile out of me. I sighed and stood up, looking around the somewhat messy apartment.

That summer, when I was going in and between Chicago and Neptune to settle legal problems with my stepmom, I had renovated the apartment into something I thought described home. I still had some minor projects to finish, but the apartment was pretty much finished. I dropped my bag on one of the oversized white chairs I had in the living room/kitchen/dining room and walked into my room.

I sighed and plopped down on my bed, glad that the long first day of school was finally over. I reluctantly sat up, knowing I should get started on my homework, but then saw the pile of dirty clothes on the floor and decided to do some laundry instead. I can't help it. I'm a procrastinator; always have been, always will be.

I grabbed the clothes off the floor, put them in a laundry basket, and headed out the door to go to the Laundromat. You can imagine my surprise when I turned around after locking my door and saw Veronica Mars staring at me, surprised too.

"Uh, hey, Veronica, do you live here, too?" I asked, coming out of my stupor. She nodded, still staring at me with shock. "Well, as you can see, I need to go to do some laundry, but maybe we can talk later?"

"Yeah, come by later and we can do our homework together, does that sound okay?" I nodded and she smiled and waved, quickly entering her apartment.

Getting to the Laundromat and doing the laundry didn't take that long, but it took longer to get back because I had to stop for gas. I pulled into the nearest gas station, climbed out of the Crossfire, and started to fill the tank. I turned around and leaned up against the car, waiting for it to fill up.

As I was waiting a yellow Xterra pulled into the gas station, music blaring and all. I groaned when I saw two boys and the extremely cute one Veronica had been staring at climb out of the SUV. I can't believe my luck! Logan and Dick noticed me and started towards me, ignoring the protests the cute one was calling at them. I stiffened up and crossed my arms across my chest, ready for any insults they could throw towards me.

"Hey, Big City Girl! Sweet pair of wheels," Logan commented, checking out my red Crossfire. My eyes narrowed even more than they already were as they approached me.

"Get to the point, Echolls. I don't think you came over here just to check out my car," I said, making my annoyance evident. Veronica had told me the name of every single 09er, so I knew Dick's and Logan's last name.

"We just came over to discuss this afternoon's events," Dick said, stepping forward. Even though I was 5'9 he was still a few inches taller than me.

"And exactly what would you like to discuss?" I asked with feigned innocence.

"You know, Morris, I don't like being humiliated like I was at lunch." Dick kept coming forward, forcing me to be pushed against my car. Logan just stood there with an amused smirk on his face. I wanted to just slap that smirk right off his stupid face.

"When did we start going by last name terms, Casablancas?" Now our faces when only inches apart and I was getting very uncomfortable with it.

"I don't know, when did we?" he asked, pinning me against the car. I now recognized his intentions and struggled to get away, but since he was built more muscular, it was a hopeless cause. I looked around for help and noticed the cute one who Veronica said was Duncan Kane watching this uncomfortably. I pleaded with him with my eyes and hoped he would come to my rescue. I was interrupted though by Dick's lips crashing upon mine. It took a moment for the realization to seep through my mind, but then I realized what was happening and struggled to get away from him.

"Dude, stop it!" Duncan exclaimed, pulling Dick away from me. I took the moment to recover and rushed past Logan to take the gas nozzle from the car. I fiercely pulled it away, not taking the time to put it back, jumped into my car, and started it, but not before giving Duncan a thankful look.

_Duncan's POV_

"Lookie what we have here fellas," Logan announced, pulling his Xterra into the gas station. I looked to where he was looking at and saw the new girl putting gas into her red Chrysler Crossfire. I swear she looked like the female version of Logan except for the hair color.

"She sure is a nice-looking thing," Dick commented, checking her slim figure out. It wasn't hard to tell that Dick had a thing for the new girl, even though she had embarrassed him in front of the whole school.

"Should we teach her a thing or two about what happens when she messes with us?" Logan asked. I frowned at the idea, but a huge smile appeared on Dick's face.

"Yeah, we should. What's her name again?" Dick asked, the smile still on his face.

"Liz Morris. She's in our Journalism class and she has Biology with me." Logan glanced at her one more time before looking back at me and Dick. "So are you guys ready?"

"More than I'll ever be!" Dick exclaimed a little too eager. They climbed out of the car and I followed reluctantly.

"C'mon, guys, I don't think that's such a good idea," I protested. Did they listen to me, though? No. So I kept protesting but to no avail.

They continued up to her, but I stood back, not wanting to be the wrath of her anger. I saw her stiffen up and cross her arms across her chest when she realized they were coming up to her. Logan said something and she said something angrily back. Then Dick started to force her up against her car and I saw the horror appear in her beautiful chocolate eyes as she realized what Dick was trying to do. He started to go too far when he pinned her up against the Crossfire and she struggled to get out of his grip. I couldn't help it anymore so I just looked away, hoping it would end soon. Curiosity killed the cat and I looked back to see her pleading with me with those big, beautiful chocolate eyes. I just stood there like an idiot at first, until I saw Dick start to kiss her.

Feelings, which I hadn't felt since I had been with Veronica, erupted through me. Jealousy and anger being the main ones. I rushed towards Dick and her with an angry expression on my face.

"Dude, stop it!" I exclaimed, pulling Dick away from her. She rushed away from him, took the nozzle away from the car, and jumped into the car. She started the car and gave me a thankful look before slamming on the accelerator and driving away. I stared disbelievingly at Logan and he looked guiltily at the ground. How could he just stand there while an innocent girl was getting taken advantage of? Sometimes he could be such a dumbass.

"Dude! Why did you break me away from her? She was starting to get into it!" Dick cried, outraged.

"She was enjoying it?!? You were taking advantage of her! What else was I supposed to do? Just stand there as an innocent girl was being taking advantage of?" I asked, equally as outraged. Dick could be such a dick sometimes.

"We're sorry, DK, we didn't mean to take advantage of her," Logan apologized quietly.

"Whatever, I'm walking home," I said, starting to head in the direction of home, leaving them there to stare after me confused. I guess I will always remember that day as the day I started to fall for Liz Morris.

_Liz's POV_

I drove like a madman back to the apartment complex, fighting back tears the entire time. I forgot all about the clothes and hurried up to Veronica's apartment. I knocked quickly and felt the tears start to fall down my face, smearing my mascara and probably making me look like crap. Veronica answered the door with a smile, but it quickly fell when she saw the way I looked.

"Omigoid, Liz, you look like hell! What happened?" she asked, taking my arm and pulled me into the living room. She sat me on the couch and looked at me with concerned blue eyes.

"Dick and Logan, th-they took advantage of me," I sobbed out, putting my head in my hands. I could sense that Veronica was tensing up.

"Did they--?"

"No, they didn't rape me. Dick was the main one who took advantage of me. I was at the gas station and they pulled up in Logan's Xterra. Logan and Dick were the ones who approached me, Duncan stayed back--,

"Duncan was there, too?" I nodded.

"Well, Dick started to force me up against the side of my car and I didn't realize what he was doing until it was too late and he already had me pinned against the side of the car. Then Dick started kissing me and Duncan came to my rescue by pulling Dick away from me. After that, I just hopped in my car and drove like a madman all the way here," I said quietly, tears still trickling down my face. Veronica pulled me into a hug and comforted me, like there was a mutual understanding. It had only been a couple of hours since we had become friends, but I already felt like I could count on Veronica in my times of need.

A half-hour later, after my sobs had quieted down, she pulled me up and told me I should get fixed up because her father would come home soon and I probably wouldn't want to have to explain it to him. I nodded and she told me she would go get some clothes for me that one of her old friend used to keep here. She walked back to what I supposed was her bedroom and came back with a pair of really short gray shorts and a pink tank-top. I looked at the clothes skeptically.

"Sorry, but my friend was your height and she wore these to bed when she spent the night here," she said, smiling sheepishly.

"It's okay," I said, returning the smile. I took the shorts and the tank-top and went into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and gasped. My golden brown hair was falling out of the bun it had been in earlier and my make-up was a mess. I turned on the faucet and quickly washed the make-up off my face. My dad had always said I looked prettier without make-up and now looking in the mirror I saw how true he was. Thinking of Dad brought even more tears to sprout in my eyes. I wiped them away and changed into the really short shorts and the pink tank-top. I pulled the scrunchie that was holding my hair into place out and brushed my hair straight. I then pulled it into a ponytail and headed out of the bathroom.

Veronica smiled at me when I came out the bathroom.

"Much better," she said as she saw that I had changed my appearance. I noticed that she had gone over to my apartment and had gotten my bag.

"How'd you--?" She held up my key ring and smiled innocently. I laughed and sat down next to her at the small table.

"You have a very territorial German Shepard," she said. "She scared me half to death when I went over there to get your bag."

"Yeah, Opal has always been that way. Dad insists I have a territorial dog with me when I'm alone," I said, chuckling softly. So I lied about my dad, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

"I know what you mean." I looked over at the brown Boxer that was staring at my every move. We continued to do our homework until the apartment door was unlocked and Veronica's dad entered the apartment. Veronica's dad dropped his bags on the ground, looked at Veronica, and sighed loudly. Veronica looked up from her homework and looked up eagerly.

"And?" she asked, waiting eagerly for a reply about something. Her father stretched out his arms.

"Who's your daddy?" A disgusted look came onto Veronica's face and I tried not to giggle.

"Ack. I hate it when you say that."

"You know what, this is important. You remember this. I used to be cool!"

"When?" Veronica asked, looking up skeptically at her father.

"'77. Trans Am, Blue Oyster Cult in the 8-track, a foxy stacked blond riding shotgun, racing for pink slips. Now wait a minute, I'm thinking of a Springsteen song. Scratch everything, I was never cool," he said.

"I don't know which bothers me more, "foxy" or "stacked"," she said, looking thoughtful. Veronica and I exchange looks and start to giggle. Now it seems that her dad has noticed me.

"Who's this lovely young lady?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest and observing me thoughtfully.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Dad, Dad this is Liz Morris, Liz this is my dad, Keith Mars," Veronica said, introducing us. I stood up and approached Keith.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Mars," I said, smiling politely and holding a hand out. He chuckled and took my hand, shaking it.

"Please call me, Keith, Liz. Would your dad happen to be Phil Morris?" Keith asked, releasing my hand.

"Yeah, my dad is Phil Morris," I replied. A smile of recognition appeared on his face.

"Really?!? Ol' Phil has a daughter, unbelievable. How's he doing?" he asked, the grin still on his face. I smiled at the thought of someone knowing my father here in Neptune.

"He's doing great! We decided to move here after he divorced my stepmom. Right now he's in Chicago finalizing the divorce." Veronica looked at her father confused.

"Dad, how do you know Liz's dad?" Veronica asked, her brow quizzical.

"Veronica, her dad and I were best friends in high school. So, Phil's moving here, huh? Where are you guys going to live?"

"Well, coincidently we live here in the same complex," I said, smiling sheepishly.

"Really," he muttered, shaking his head thoughtfully. "Well, I'm going to have to come by and see him when he comes back from Chicago." He turned from me and turned to Veronica. "I nailed our bail jumper one hundred yards from Me-xi-co," he told her, searching through the pockets of the jacket he had just taken off. He found whatever he needed and handed it out to Veronica who took it eagerly. "Twenty five hundred bucks. No sack dinners tonight. Tonight, we eat, like the lower middle class to which we aspire. Fire up the 'bachie." He started to do the shuffle which earned giggles from Veronica and me. "Hey, Liz, would you like to join Veronica and me for dinner?"

"Yeah," Veronica agreed and then when she saw my hesitation, she quickly added," and we won't take no for an answer."

"Okay, if you insist," I said, mock sighing and smiling.

Keith ended up cooking steaks and Veronica and I joined him out on the balcony to keep him company.

"So Jake Kane went to the Camelot last night and hooked up with some hussy," Veronica stated, holding something that looked like photographs. I glance up at her concernedly when she said the name Jake Kane.

"Excuse me for intruding, but is Jake Kane, Duncan's dad?" I asked, not wanting to seem too eager to know. They both nodded and turned back to their conversation.

"Didn't I say something about you not getting involved in that?" he asked, giving her a reprimanding look.

"I also remember you saying something about taking Backup," she added.

"You get pictures?"

"No money shot, the woman in question never stepped foot outside but I did get pictures of license plates. I figured you could run them."

"Let me see 'em," he said, his hand outstretched. Veronica gave him the photographs and he turned away from her to examine them. He was facing me and I saw the shock and recognition creep onto his face and watched him crumple the photo up.

"You stay away from Jake Kane," he ordered in a firm voice and threw the photo on the ground. "I don't want you doing anything else on this case. We're gonna drop it anyway and I'm-I'm gonna let his wife know." Veronica's face became aghast.

"What? We're dropping the case? Why? What's wrong? Who is it? Why don't you just tell me?" Veronica demanded, attempting at something that was a hopeless cause by the look on Keith's face.

"Veronica, no! It's done, it's over with. Just stay away from him!" Keith said even more firm and serious. Veronica fell quiet and stayed that way for the rest of the evening, even during dinner. Keith and I talked about my father and he asked me how I had liked growing up in Chicago. After dinner I said I had better go and Veronica gave a half-hearted wave. Keith looked at her disappointed and told me good night.

I walked back to my apartment with my shoulder bag hitting my bare leg the entire time. In the Midwest if I had been caught wearing something as short as this I would have been called a slut, but I guess here on the sunny West Coast it was a style.

Opal barked as soon as I opened the door. She was lying on the oversized white sofa, waiting for me to get home. I threw the bag down on the floor, sat down next to her, and laid on her. I snuggled into her black-brown hair and soon fell asleep, dreaming of my life back in Chicago. My father's smiling face, my dead boyfriend's loving face, and my supposed mother's caring face swirled through my mind that night.

I woke up with a start, from the nightmare I had just had about my boyfriend's death, and started to cry. Opal whined softly and sat up, licking my face comfortingly. I pulled my knees to my ribs to try to stop the suffering and guilt from overpowering me. Everybody I had ever loved had died because of me. My father's prostate cancer, my boyfriend's suicidal jump, and my supposed mother's car crash were my entire fault. I continued to cry until the sun came up, signaling to me that it was time to get ready for school. I was not ready to face the 09ers because they probably already knew by now what happened at the gas station yesterday.

I reluctantly got off the couch and got ready for school. I went into the bathroom and started the shower head. I peeled off the shorts and the tank-top and got under the hot, soothing water. After my long hot shower, I put a robe on and went into my room and started to scavenger through my closet for something to wear. I finally decided on a short, ripped denim skirt, a black tube-top, a blue and black-striped jacket, and strappy, high-heeled black sandals. I went back into the bathroom, blow-dried my hair, and pulled my brown hair into a half ponytail.

I grabbed a Pop-Tart, my car keys, and shoulder bag and headed out the door. Just as I opened the door, Veronica stood there with her hand raised about ready to knock on my door.

"Hey," I said softly, shutting the door behind me.

"Hey," she repeated. We stood there in an uncomfortable silence, struggling to find something to say. "Um, I heard you crying last night and I wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you okay?" she asked, looking at me concerned.

"Yeah, I'm okay, just still upset about yesterday," I lied, forcing a fake smile on my face. I couldn't tell anyone about my past just yet or why I was in Neptune in the first place. I remembered my father's last words to me. _Find your real mother, Lizzie, it won't be that hard, you look just like her. Lizzie, promise me…_

"Liz!" I was broken out of my stupor by Veronica waving her hand in front of my face. I blinked twice before I could see Veronica's face clearly. "You okay? Lost you there for a minute," she said, laughing a bit. "I just asked you if you wanted me to drive you to school, you know, so you don't have to face the 09ers alone." I smiled at her and nodded. I didn't want to be alone when I had to face them.

We walked out of the apartment complex and down to her LeBaron. I climbed into her car and put my stuff in the back seat. We made small talk on the way to school, but it was mostly silent. We finally reached school and climbed out of the car when she found a suitable parking spot. I hesitated while she walked confidently ahead. She turned around and glanced at my uncertain face.

"Well, it's either now or never," she said, urging me to come up to her. I got up enough courage to walk with her but it quickly faded when I saw a familiar yellow Xterra pull up next to us. Veronica rolled her eyes as it continued to go the same pace as us.

"There's Veronica," Logan said to his companions in the car. I looked in the Xterra and saw Logan driving the car, Duncan looking uncomfortably out the window, and Dick and some other guy I didn't recognize were in the back of it. Veronica walked ahead, ignoring them and I did the exact same thing. "Hey, Ronnie. Hey, we've decided we'd, uh, we'd rather surf than study today, you wanna come with? Duncan will promise to take his shirt off. Does that sweeten the pot?" Dick and the other guy started to cheer, but Duncan remained quiet and so did Veronica who was still ignoring him. "Does it make you horny? Hey, DK, flex for your ex." This caused me to stop unexpectedly. Veronica and Duncan used to go out?

"Shut up, Logan," Duncan growled, obviously not amused.

"All right, all right. Hey. Hey. Hey!" Logan called after Veronica who was far ahead of them now. Veronica sighed and stopped, watching as Logan pulled a hipflask from nowhere. My eyes strayed to his companion on the side of him and I noticed he was staring at me. When he noticed I had caught him staring at me, he went back to staring out the window. The few minutes our eyes were connected I felt feelings I haven't fell since I had been with Trent, my dead boyfriend. I went back to what Logan was telling Veronica, from what I could here it was about her mother.

"What do you say to a little hootch, huh? What's the matter, aren't you your mother's daughter? Hmm? Now there was a woman who could drink. Hey, what's she up to nowadays, maybe she'll join us. Do you know where she is? Any clue?" Logan asked, a smirk on his face at the falling of Veronica's face. Seeing Veronica's reaction, I stepped protectively in front of her.

"Leave her alone, Echolls, unless you want to deal me," I growled, knowing how it felt not to know where your mother was. The smirk fell instantly off his face as he finally noticed I had been there the entire time.

"Yeah, man, leave her alone," Duncan said, grabbing Logan's shoulder. Logan glanced at me worriedly and then his expression changed back to a sneer.

"Ouch, chill pill, people. All right. Aw, she used to be fun, man," he said, giving Veronica another glance. "Bye." And with that he floored it and raced away.

"You okay?" I asked, looking at her concerned. She gulped and gave me a half nod. We walked inside the school together and we separated and went our separate ways after saying we would see each other in fourth period. Turns out my locker is right next to Wallace's so I said hi to him and we walked to first period together. We passed Duncan in the hall and I saw him give Wallace a jealous glare which made me have to stifle a giggle. We barely knew each other and he was acting like an overprotective big brother.

During Journalism class I swear I felt somebody's eyes on me the entire time and have a good suspicion about who it was. Next I had English and guess who it was with? If you guessed Dick you were right and the bad thing was I sat right next to him. During the whole class he kept throwing me seductive looks and kept putting his hand on my knee, which I had shoo off every time before he would get off. Then third period I had Biology with the King himself, Logan Echolls. Today Mr. Wu was announcing who our partners would be for the rest of the year. When he got to my name I held my breath hoping I wouldn't be stuck with some jerk.

"Elizabeth Morris and… Logan Echolls," Mr. Wu said and then he moved on to the next people. I swear I started hyperventilating.

"Uh, Mr. Wu did you say I was with Logan Echolls?" I asked, coming up to him after he told us to go sit by our partners.

"Yes, Ms. Morris, you are with Logan," he said, confirming it on his list. I slowly approached his table and glared at him.

"Finally! Big City Girl has graced me with her company at last," Logan said sarcastically. He then made a show of getting up and pulled my stool out for me. "Here you go, Your Highness." He mock bowed which earned laughs from the people sitting around us.

"I can get it myself, sir, but thank you very much," I said with sarcastic kindness, planning on humiliating him as well. I gave a mock curtsy and sat down as the people around us hooted with laughter again. Instead of glaring back, he chuckled and sat back down, glancing my way as he did and giving me one of his shy smiles, that I would learn later on that he hardly gave to anyone.

Then it was time for fourth period and I was already tired. As I entered History I noticed that Veronica had already saved me a seat and waved at me as I entered the room. I replayed my whole day so far for her and watched her face turn from horror to disgust to surprise as I told her what happened in second and third period. Mr. Rooks interrupted us though by starting the day's lesson.

Finally it was lunchtime and Veronica and I ordered our lunches and headed towards the table we had sat at yesterday to find Wallace already sitting there.

"Hey, Wallace," I greeted him with a warm smile. He smiled back and Veronica nodded his way. Veronica grabbed the apple from her lunch and her notebook completely ignoring us.

"Girl, you should hear what people say about you." This caused Veronica to look up sharply.

"So then what are you doing sitting here?" she asked sharply, her eyes narrowing.

"You sat next to me," Wallace stated.

"This is my table," Veronica pointed out.

"And what a fine table. What do you suppose this is made of? Oak?" Wallace knocked on the wood of the table.

"Look if people are saying such awful things…,"

"Well, I figure I've got a choice. I can either hang out with the punks who laughed at me, took pictures of me while I was taped to that flagpole or I can hang out with the chick who cut me down." Veronica grinned at this.

"So do you want the PCH Biker Club off your ass?" Wallace nodded eagerly and Veronica laughed at his eagerness.

"Need any help?" I asked, not wanting to be left out of the mischief.

* * *

After lunch we ended up in the art room, while a kid name Corny looked at Veronica's plan.

"This is so twisted. I love it," he said, examining the plans excitedly.

"Well, can you do it? 'Cause we need it fast," Veronica explained.

"Oh hell yeah, for you, oh anything. I'll even throw in the glazing gratis," he exclaimed.

"Go to town. Thanks, Corny." She patted him on the back and led us out into the hallway. "Tonight I'll start phase one of our plan. I've gotta go, I'll drive you home, Liz, okay?" I nodded and she took this as her cue to leave and rushed down the hall.

* * *

"Let's go," Veronica said, urging me and Wallace forward. Wallace and I hurriedly followed after her.

"Hey, FloJo, slow your ass down," Wallace said as we caught up to her at last. Veronica shushed us and pointed towards where Logan, Vice Principal Clemmons (I should know I was sent to his office yesterday for smarting off to my PE teacher), and a deputy from the local sheriff's department were at Logan's locker.

"There you go," Logan said, stepping back after opening his locker. In the locker was a bong, in the form of a cherub.

"Well, what's this, Logan? This would appear to be a device they use to smoke marijuana," Clemmons said, observing the bong.

"That's exactly what it looks like," the deputy said.

"Back to the office. Come on," Clemmons ordered, ushering Logan towards his office. Logan looked at the bong incredulously and looked around for a culprit. He spotted her and pointed towards her.

"It was you?" Veronica did a 'who me?' gesture and looked at him innocently. Logan laughed in disbelief, but then got serious. "Listen, I know it was you. This isn't over, okay." Veronica exaggerated a yawn.

"Hey." Logan smiled and pointed, getting even closer.

"You're so cute. Listen, I'll get you for this. I will," he called down the hall as Clemmons pushed him down the hall.

"Come on, let's go."

"Eee, solid," Corny said, approaching us from down the hall.

"You're right, that was funny," I said, trying to stop the laughing.

"Meet me at my car after school. Let's see if you guys've done your part."

After school, Veronica drove me and Wallace to the Sheriff's department for phase three. Veronica and Wallace sat in the front, while I sat in the back waiting for Wallace to do the honors. I had already placed the needed item in the evidence room, so now all Wallace needed to do was push the button.

"You know, we could get in a lot of trouble for this," Wallace stated. Veronica reached across the car for it.

"Give it here."

"Wait. I'm gonna do it. I just thought one of us should state the obvious." Wallace pushed the button. "I wonder if it worked." As if to answer his question, a fire truck raced past us into the parking lot.

"Yep, it worked," I replied, smiling brightly at our success.

* * *

Later on Dog Beach, I decided to take Opal for a walk. It had been awhile since she had really stretched her legs and she deserved it. I brought her favorite ball and threw it out across the sand when we got there. I noticed Wallace was there with his remote-controlled airplane and approached him.

"Hey, Liz!" he greeted me with a warm smile. Opal noticing I was with someone else, bounded up towards us with the ball in her mouth. When she got there, she dropped the ball and started to growl at Wallace.

"Opal!" I reprimanded sharply. She whined, but obeyed, eyeing Wallace suspiciously. "Sorry about her. She doesn't like me to be with strangers."

"Hey, girl, I won't hurt Liz, I promise," he said, holding his hand out for her to approach. Opal stared at his hand suspiciously for a moment and then approached cautiously. Wallace patted her on the head and scratched behind her ears, which she loved. She barked in approval and nuzzled against his hand. "Does that mean she approves of me?"

"Yep," I said, beaming at the both of them. We both were caught up so much in Opal; we didn't see Veronica approach us.

"Got a present for you," she said, startling both of us. She had a large envelope in her hand and handed it to Wallace, whose eager hands ripped it open. He sighed with relief when he saw it was the surveillance tape.

"I owe you two big time," he said, thanking us gratefully.

"What're you thanking me for? It was Veronica's expertise, all I did was one thing, that hardly matters," I said, causing Veronica to blush.

"I had my own reasons for doing it, trust me," she objected, chuckling under her breath.

"Oh no you don't. You really think I'm gonna let you get away with that? That might play with the masses. But underneath that angry young women shell, there's a slightly less angry young woman who's just dying to bake me something. You're a marshmallow, Veronica Mars, a Twinkie." Veronica laughed softly and smiled at the both of us. We stayed on the beach till about twilight playing with Wallace's remote control airplane.

"Okay, how do I make it loop the loop?" Veronica asked, looking at the airplane as she tried to keep it the air. Wallace had noticed a disturbance elsewhere, though.

"Uh, Veronica?"

"Yeah?"

"Your car." We all turned our heads and saw Logan, with a crowbar, and a couple of his friends lounging on her car, as if it was their's. Veronica handed the remote control back to Wallace and headed towards her car, her eyes narrowed. We hurried after her, I, like Veronica, had my eyes narrowed. Who did this jackass think he was?

"Hey, Veronica Mars and, of course, my favorite lady, Liz Morris," he said casually, jumping off her car as if nothing was wrong.

"Leave her alone, Echolls," I growled, protectively standing in front of Veronica. I didn't know what problem Logan had with Veronica, but, whatever it was, he didn't have the right to harass her, as he was doing now.

"Or you're going to do what, Morris?" he asked darkly, stepping a step forward to glare at me.

"Make sure your life is hell, like you seem to want Veronica's to be." I knew I had hit a soft spot when I saw his face fall, but it quickly regained a smirk. At that moment I saw the real Logan Echolls. The tortured, little kid he hid inside himself behind the jackass façade he was putting on. I was about ready to apologize, for I don't know what reason, but somebody from behind nudged my elbow.

"Liz, let me handle it from here," Veronica whispered in my ear. I moved out of her way, guiltily looking at the ground.

"What is it you want, Logan?" she asked calmly.

"Do you know what your little joke cost me?" he asked, casually approaching her now that I was out of the way.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you won't be getting your bong back." Logan then swung the crowbar at her car and took out a headlight. Veronica flinched, which caused Logan to smile and twirl the crowbar in his hand.

"Wrong answer. Would you care to guess again?"

"Clearly your sense of humor." Logan then took out another headlight.

"Nope. You're usually so good at pop quizzes. No, the correct answer is my car. That's right. My Daddy took my T-Bird away. And you know what I won't be having. Fun, fun, fun," Logan smirked, positioning him directly in front of Veronica, the crowbar slung casually around his neck. My guilt had quickly dissolved and I was gripping Opal's leash tightly, turning my knuckles white. He obviously hadn't heard the motorcycles approaching.

"Uh-uh, Logan," one of his lackeys said, fearfully glancing in the PCHers direction. Logan turned around and started to approach them. Weevil got off his bike when Logan got to him.

"What do we have here? Vandalism? No, no, no. Only vandalism that happens in this town goes through me," Weevil said, observing Veronica's car.

"Listen, man, I don't have a problem with you," Logan said quietly, nervously staring Weevil in the eye.

"That's where you're wrong." They continued to stare at each other and then Weevil moved forward to relieve Logan of the crowbar. Meanwhile, Felix had pulled himself onto the running strip of the SUV and had leaned into to pull out a CD.

"Hey, yo. Is this O-Town any good? I mean my little sister likes it but, you know, she likes ponies and juice boxes too." The bikers started laughing, while Logan looked at them as if weighing his chances.

"I suddenly feel like I'm in a scene from 'The Outsiders'," Wallace whispered into Veronica's ear.

"Be cool, Soda Pop," Veronica said back, keeping her eyes on the developing scene. I had mixed feelings about the scene in front of me. Part of me, for some odd reason, wanted to jump in and protect Logan, while the other part of me was jumping for glee at Logan finally getting something he deserved.

Weevil, having taken the crowbar from Logan, walked up to the SUV.

"Hey, that's not his car, that's my mom's," one of Logan's followers complained.

"She can bill me," Weevil sneered at him. Weevil took the crowbar and hit the hood of SUV hard. He then took out one of the headlights and went back to the hood a couple of more times. Everyone watched-the Loganites (A/N: Sorry, but I just found this funny and had to put this in. Got it from with dread and the bikers in glee.

"That's it. Head for the hills," Weevil said, giving the crowbar back to the horrified car owner's son. The Loganites hurried towards the car. "Except for you. You, you say you're sorry," Weevil ordered, pointing towards Logan. Logan chuckled incredulously but stood his ground.

"Rub a lamp," Logan replied, winking and smirking at him. Weevil punched him in the stomach, causing him to fall on the ground in pain. Veronica stared at this uncomfortably and so did I.

"I said, say you're sorry." Logan got back up and stared at Weevil.

"Kiss my ass," Logan said, deliberately allowing Weevil to punch him in the face. Logan went down again and came back up with blood trickling out of his nose. I gasped and he turned to look at me confused. I understood why he looked at me like that. I mean I was the one who had wanted Logan to get what he deserved, but he didn't deserve this. I looked away, trying to get his bloody face out of my mind.

"Now…," Weevil started but was interrupted by Veronica.

"Let him go," Veronica ordered.

"Are you sure? I could do this for awhile," Weevil protested, trying to change her mind.

"I don't want his apology," she stated calmly. Logan wiped the blood from his nose and groaned as he headed towards the SUV. He gave us one last glance, I think it was directed towards me, and then stumbled into the SUV. As they drove off, Weevil turned around to look at us.

"So that, uh, surveillance tape just…poof?"

"That's fortunate," Veronica replied.

"My uncle has a body shop on the highway. If you come in, you know, I can make sure your body gets the full service treatment," Weevil suggested, eyeing her up and down.

"Okay, now you apologize," Veronica said disgusted.

"I'm sorry, w-was that too dirty, 'cause…"

"Not to me dork," she said, pointing towards Wallace. "To him."

"Right. No." Weevil chuckled incredulously.

"Fine. He has the only copy of the Sac'n'Pac video. Wallace, Liz, let's go decide what to do with it." Veronica turned around and headed towards her car.

"Okay. Wait, wait, wait, look, look. I'm sorry man, umm, for, you know, taping you to the-the flagpole, I'm sorry." Weevil apologized as sincerely as he could.

"All right," Wallace accepted.

"Can I have the tape back now?"

"Nope." Veronica, Wallace, and I laughed and got into the LeBaron as Weevil looked on. We drop off Wallace and then headed back towards the apartment complex. As we drove, I glanced at Veronica and wondered if I should tell her my secrets. I shook my head and told myself no. One day I'll tell her, but for now there are just some secrets I have to keep.


End file.
